What Can Citizen Scientists Tell Us about Drought? Using CoCoRaHS to Improve the Monitoring and Reporting of Drought Impacts Amanda Farris, Kirsten Lackstrom Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA) University of South Carolina 2016 SC Water Resources Conference October 12-13, 2016
2012 Carolina DEWS Scoping Workshop Key information needs identified by workshop participants: Improved on-the-ground drought impacts monitoring and reporting Understanding impacts not captured by traditional drought indices (e.g., agriculture, water supply, fire) Capturing more information about drought onset, intensification, and recovery
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network Daily precipitation measurements using the official 4 CoCoRaHS rain gauge Severe weather reports Drought impacts reports Incorporated into the National Drought Impacts Reporter Online data entry (mobile apps also available)
Project Components Volunteer recruitment Reports submitted, coded, and analyzed Interviews Extended dry period (2010-13) ends Record rainfall event Source: US Drought Monitor, http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/mapsanddata/graph.aspx
Weekly Condition Monitoring Connecting weather and climate to the environment CISA recruited volunteers to submit weekly condition monitoring reports in addition to their daily precipitation measurements. Regular observations help to identify: The early signs of drought When conditions begin to improve Any lingering impacts
Volunteer Training & Engagement In-person trainings Webinars Training and informational materials Project webpage www.cisa.sc.edu/cocorahs.html Ongoing communications with participants Cuckoo for CoCoRaHS in the Carolinas blog https://carolinascocorahs.blogspot.com/ Monthly newsletter Thank You postcards Quarterly conference calls
Sample Reports Pickens County, SC, September 18, 2015 Dry conditions persist in the Easley area. Local streams are well below average. Ground is hard and difficult to dig. Some leaves are beginning to fall on top of the already dry grass. Richland County, SC, October 18, 2015 From Sep 22 to Oct 12 we've had 25.44 inches. The springs in our neighborhood have been "bleeding" since the heavy rain during the first weekend in October. This has slowed during the last few days.
Report Analysis Condition Monitoring Report Information # of reports submitted, Sept 1, 2013 December 31, 2015 1,572 # of observers who submitted reports 68 # of coded references to all coding categories 21,216 # of references to drought impact categories (e.g., agriculture, water quality and supply, recreation and tourism, etc.) 8,221 Water Supply & Quality, 758 Agriculture, Horticulture & Landscaping, 1083 Tourism & Recreation, 130 Society & Public Health, 78 Relief, Response & Restrictions, 18 Plants & Wildlife, 716 General Awareness, 35 Business & Industry, 42 Energy, 94 Fire, 59
Other Report Content Temperature Data 463 Soil Moisture 620 Precipitation Data 1189 Other Weather Observations* 298 Drying or Drought Conditions 498 Actions Taken (Or Not) To Address Changing Conditions 134 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Other weather observations include: cloudiness, dew, fair weather, fog, frost, humidity, sunny, and wind.
100 References to wet and dry conditions 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 All dry indicators* All wet indicators*
Decision Maker Interviews December 2014-September 2015 11 interviews, 17 interviewees NDMC USDM authors (2), Drought Impact Reporter (1) CoCoRaHS (2) State Climate Offices NC (2), SC (1) NWS Forecast Offices (8) York County Soil & Water Conservation District (1)
Summary of Findings Project confirmed the value of CoCoRaHS as a tool for condition monitoring NC SCO currently uses reports for weekly drought monitoring Limitations and suggestions Real-time translation of information and ongoing engagement with volunteers are resource-intensive Limited drought conditions during study period Difficult for many users to access information Streamlined process to view and access reports
Summary of Findings: Visualization and Communication Charts, graphs and maps: Provide a useful summary of the data Could be used to help identify trends Onset, recovery, transitions from one level to another Spatial scale and aggregation of information County, hydrologic (HUC) boundaries are most useful However, most observations report on backyard-household scale
Sample Condition Monitoring Reports Greenville County, SC Monday, October 10, 2016 We were "Severely Dry" before the 1.2 inches of gentle rain we received on Oct. 7. No rain since, so soil does have moisture from that rain. Bare packed garden soil is still moist on top at mid-day. Recovery of centipede grass in lawn seems to begin to show signs of recovery. The 1.2 inches of rain we had a few days ago was a slow gentle rain and the very dry soil soaked it all in with no apparent runoff. It was a very welcome rain. Irrigation of the garden has not resumed. Scale Bar Level Mildly Dry Photo courtesy of observer Pat Momich Beaufort County, SC Tuesday, October 11, 2016 It has been mildly dry this month, until last Friday when Hurricane Matthew hit. Recorded 10.63" of rain total. Mandatory evacuation. Returned last evening. Water everywhere, but then, it IS the Lowcountry! We lost a full sized Japanese loquat tree, but other than that, very lucky. Our power was out only a short while unlike much of the rest of the area. Hilton Head Island is still evacuated. Next report in 2 weeks. Scale Bar Level Severly Wet
Condition Monitoring Web Map www.cisa.sc.edu/map
Interested in Participating? Visit www.cisa.sc.edu/cocorahs.html Training and educational materials Volunteer information form Return to afarris@sc.edu We will host a webinar training for new project volunteers on Monday, October 17 Contact Amanda Farris at afarris@sc.edu if you would like information to join the call. Please also let us know if you are interested in testing the web map and providing feedback about the project.
Thank You! Questions or Comments?